


Stupid Teenager Things

by FrozenHearts



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Bruises, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Changelings, Character Study, Creepslayerz, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Goblins, Injury, Introspection, Magic, Protectiveness, Trolls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 23:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14031447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: While on a Creepslayerz mission, Steve and Eli come across Jim in the woods.





	Stupid Teenager Things

**Author's Note:**

> So while I like the theory that Jim is possibly part Changeling, I don't really agree with it wholeheartedly. So for this fic, Jim is fully human until proven otherwise on the show

At first, Steve thought Eli was just another nerd. Someone who wasn't all that cool, with his high squeak of a voice and dumb thick framed glasses that he would snap in half after shoving the kid into a locker. 

He thought the same of Jim Lake Jr., that day at school when he practically crawled on his knees in front of the student body. And in front of Claire, who Steve knew Jim had a crush on. 

And then Jim punched him in the face.

After that, Steve sought to make Jim's life a living hell- taking his spot as Romeo in the school play, throwing the ball harder than necessary to leave a mark in dodgeball during gym class, things like that. Stupid teenager things.

He never expected to befriend Eli after finding that thing in his garage, nor did he expect for Eli to actually be kind of cool in his weird nerdy way .He wasn't condescending, he didn't berate or yell at Steve for making a mistake like his dad would have done. He was patient and chill and Steve honestly felt bad for shoving him into lockers for babbling about things like rock monsters and green piles of goo with tire tracks in the middle of the street.

Because that was all true. Eli had shown him the proof, they followed Jim to his house, the rock show at the museum.

Even if Steve didn't like Jim all that much, he didn't hate the guy. He certainly didn't wish death upon him like Eli was implying someone did. So he and Eli were riding their bikes in the dead of night, after Claire had called asking if Jim was with them.

"Wasn't he at your house?" Steve asked with as much nonchalance as he could muster. Claire sounded aggravated on the other end, sighing before saying thanks and telling him to tell Jim to call her when he saw him. 

"Just remember to think before we act," Eli sniffed as he pedaled his bike alongside Steve's, "After our mistake at the museum, we have to be careful."

"Whatever you say, Pepperbuddy," Steve ended the call, slipping his phone into his pocket. With Eli's information, and what happened at the museum, Steve knew Jim was in trouble. The bathrooms had been almost destroyed, as he watched from a stall while Jim- in a full suit of armor for some reason- fought off some sort of slime monster. It was weird, seeing Jim so agile but it wasn't the time, what with toilets exploding and people fleeing the museum in terror.

"Hey," Steve added, "Do you think it's that slime thing again?"

Eli hummed, focusing on the road ahead, "I dunno. Hopefully we get there before anything else happens- remember detention?"

Steve grimaced. He was wesring the mole mascot costume at the time, but there was no denying someone was trying to murser Jim while they were running around school. He had been in the armor again, being slammed around as he pleaded with his attacker to stop, that he wasn't going to fight his friend.

And then Jim disappeared. Claire was frustrated that he wasn't answering her calls, Toby knew something but refused to actually say anything, even as Steve reverted to threatening him with a punch to the face. He couldn't exactly discuss it with Eli, since they had to keep their Creepslayerz business underwraps while at school, but Steve could tell Eli was worried about Jim's safety.

Steve was surprised to find that he was worried too. 

\-------

They were riding through Arcadia Oaks park when they heard the first yell.

Eli had wanted to stop by the fountain, take a few puffs of his inhaler before moving on, so Steve sat with him, arms crossed diligently as he kept his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

The yell had sounded familiar, and Eli was nudging his ribs hard, rushing to get back on his bike.

"That-that sounded like Jim!" was Eli's rushed explanation, and Steve simply followed, knowing this was too important to Eli to argue with him. He was right, however, that it was Jim yelling- Steve heard the telltale whine as his voice cracked when they made it closer to the forests edge, echoing down the path that lead to a series of hiking trails.

"You sure it was Jim?" Steve asked, "It could be a raccoon-"

_"Get off me! Let gooooAAAAGGGHH!!"_

"Not a raccoon! Come on!" Steve picked up the pace, his knees aching as he pedaled, but Jim was in trouble. Jim was the only kid who was nice to Eli at school, and from what hr knew, it was just him and his mom. He was Toby's only friend to boot. 

In retrospect, that wasn't a lot of people who would go to his funeral if he died. Steve shook the thought away, tuning out the obvious sounds of fighting and Jim's cries for help. 

No one was going to die today. Not on his watch. 

\-------

Jim was alone in the clearing when they found him. The forest floor was scratched with trenches, grooves digging in where feet had been position, cracks and scrapes in trees where someone had been thrown or something sharp went to cut. 

Steve thought he could see the strabge blue glow from Jim's armor like before, but it didappeared as soon as they got close. 

"Oh, man...." Steve trailed under gis breath, putting a tentative hand on Eli's shoulder, "Just.... be careful, Pepperbuddy."

Eli nodded, but he didn't make any move to leave Steve's side or approach Jim. So they moved together, carefully making their way through the battlefield where Jim lay. Acorch marks seemed to surround them, a fine layer of dust making itself apparent as Eli sneezed. Shushing him, Steve motioned for Eli to text Toby or Claire.

As he did that, Steve made the few steps over to Jim, heart hammering against his ribs at what he might possibly find.

If Jim was dead, Steve wasn't sure what he would do.

He knew he wasn't a professional doctor, but Steve did his best to find a pulse- faint, but there, thankfully- and make sure he was still breathing. 

"Is he okay?" came Eli's worried whisper. His knuckles were white as he clutched his phone to his chest.

"Yeah, got knocked out," Steve assured him, and he leaned over Jim's prone form to continue looking for clues. Whoever attacked Jim must have been strong if their surroundings were anything to go by. He didn't move Jim from where he lay on the ground, instead lightly skimming his hands over his abdomen to feel for anything unusual.

It didn't surprise him to find that Jim really was as skinny as he looked, although his legs definitely needed a better workout. His clothes were dirtied, and Steve found a few cuts near gis stomach, his blue sweater ripped where something had cut into it. 

"I-I think those are bruises on his neck, Steve," Eli pointed out. Steve followed gis finger to find Jim's neck completely covered, a few of the blacks and blues already turning yellow and green around the edges. 

"We might need a doctor," Steve said, frowning at the sight. How was Jim breathing? Thode marks looked so big they practically expanded onto his chin, like someone had grabbed him by the face and just tossed him around because they could get away with it. Because they were bigger. 

Because they wanted to hurt him. They wanted Jim dead.

"Steve, I'm gonna call an ambulance," Eli broke through his thoughts, his phone at the ready, "What do we tell his mom?"

Mrs. Lake. Right, she didn't know- at least, Steve didn't know if she knew. There had been an incident earlier in the year, with Claire finding Jim unconscious in the woods after being chased by dogs.

(Obviously he and Eli knew now it wasn't dogs, but everyone else believed it. It was best not to worry Jim's mom, though. They needed a new excuse.)

"He was yelling for someone to let go of him," Steve remembered, "Like somebody was trying to kidnap him-"

Eli looked incredulous, "But somebody _was trying to kidnap him-!"_

"I know, Eli!" Steve snapped, and he felt himself getting annoyed. They both knew someone tried kidnapping Jim, the only problem was trying to figure out who, why and how to make sure it didn't happen again.

"Sorry, for snapping at you, I... I'm just-"

"I know," Eli put a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder, "it's okay, I'm worried too. The police shoukd believe us if we tell them what we heard."

"Yeah, but we're just two kids," Steve said, "Will they believe us?"

Eli shrugged, "We heard what he said, someone had him and now they're gone. We'll have to tell Toby and Claire, but it's all we have right-right now."

Steve nodded. Eli was right, and besides, it was the truth. The police couldn't ignore a potential kidnapping, and Steve was sad to see this happening to Jim, of all people. Eli was back on the phone, frantically telling an officer of what happened and he felt his own phone buzz in his pocket.

As he pulled it out, he realized he forgot it was even there. The screen was bright as he opened up a new group text from Claire and Toby.

_Stay where you are, we're coming with people who can help_

_Thanks for not letting him die or get kidnapped or anything else_

Steve sighed, turning back to look at Jim. He seemed almost peaceful, despite the cacophony of bruises on his neck and chin. He could see a few more, shaped like fingers on his jawline and around his ears- he was definitely grabbed by the face, then, the bruises dark against his pale skin.

Steve heaved a sigh as Eli got off the phone with the police. They just had to wait for Jim's friends. It sucked, but that was all they could do, and make sure no one else tried to come after Jim in such a vulnerable state.

Hopefully Toby and Claire would know what to do.

**Author's Note:**

> First Steve Harrington, now Steve Palchuck, why do I always end up liking bully turned softy Steve characters??


End file.
